Monday, October 8th
Click here to sign up
October PTCs are scheduled for Monday, October 8th.
We apologize for the mistake in the date sent out at the parent orientation meetings.
Please take a moment to pick a time that works well with your schedule and sign up using the Google Sheets form above. Your child will need to attend the conference with you. The beginning of the conference will be an opportunity for your child to share his/her goals and thoughts about school. A form will be sent home later this month to help you prepare for our PTC.
Thank you!
UST Student Council elections are coming up!
The UST student council is a group of students elected by their classmates to act as representatives and leaders at our school. Student council members attend weekly meetings during lunch, help to plan special events, organize charity work with our sister school in Cambodia and other organizations that we support, and help to make our school a better place.
We will elect two student council members from our class, one boy and one girl. Running for student council is a choice, but those who want to try will need to prepare a speech that they will give to the class on Friday, September 21. They will have to write and practice their speech at home. On the 21st, each interested student will give their speech, and then our class will vote for one girl and one boy student council representative.
Ideas for Student Council Speech:
- explain why you would like to run for student council
- explain why you would be a good council member and leader for our school
- write about your ideas to make our school the best place it can be
I will talk with the students as well about the elections and we'll discuss ideas for what to include in a speech, but this is also a great opportunity for you to talk to your child about leadership and responsibility.
Mr. Hassey and I would like to invite parents to UST to read books to the G1 students this year as Mystery Readers! G1A and G1B will come together in the 3F shared space to listen to the Mystery Reader read a story.
When you have a moment, please visit the G1 Mystery Reader calendar.
Mystery Reader Calendar - CLICK HERE
If you are interested in being a Mystery Reader, you can choose a week that's highlighted on the calendar. After you pick a week that is open (no one has signed up) please complete the section on the left side of the calendar with your name and child's name. You can also write on the calendar to show the days and times that work best with your schedule. I will contact you to pick a day/time that you are available in the week you selected.
Remember, it is a mystery! Please do not tell your child if you are the mystery reader. We would like to keep it a surprise for the students. We hope to have many parents volunteer and participate!
Readers Build Good Reading Habits
During Reading this week we continued learning about how readers build good habits. We reviewed what real reading is and how to read to ourselves during independent reading time.
Read to Self
Eyes on your own book
Read the whole time
Stay in one smart spot
Read quietly to yourself
If you are done, get another book quickly
We learned that sometimes when we're reading, we get distracted. Students practiced rereading to stay focused while building their reading stamina. When they were distracted, I asked them to reread the last page they were on to help them remember what they had read. We also discussed that readers learn more from their books by rereading and finding something new from the pictures or the words/text.
While reading this week, students also learned how to read in a storyteller voice to better understand the books we read. I modeled reading a book in a slow, monotone voice and a fast voice. We talked about how we need to find a good speed to read (not too slow, not too fast) and read with expression.
Short e, Short u, Short o
When we practiced our weekly words this week students were encouraged to use words they know to help them read and spell other words. I introduced students to the -et word family to practice.
Example:
“If I can read/spell wet, I can read/spell net, jet, met, etc.”
At the end of every week, our class will put the weekly words in ABC order in our Word Dictionaries, then we'll add the words to the classroom word wall. The word cards are magnetic, so students can take them off during the school year to bring them to their desk and use them to help them spelling during Writing.
Number Bonds
This week we learned about number bonds. Students practiced making number trains with connecting cubes (whole), then breaking their number trains into two parts. We also used two different colors of connecting cubes to create different combinations of parts that make the same whole.
Example:
Three ways to make 5
0 are yellow / 5 are green
0 and 5 make 5.
1 is yellow / 4 are green
1 and 4 make 5.
2 are yellow / 3 are green
2 and 3 make 5.
Next week we will relate number bonds to addition and write equations to match the number bonds we are representing with connecting cubes.
Types of Sentences / End Marks
During Writing this week we focused on different kinds of sentences. Students learned about telling sentences, asking sentences, and exclamatory sentences. We also practiced end marks (. ! ?).
Telling Sentence
A telling sentence is a sentence that tells about someone or something. Every telling sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period.
Example: I had to sharpen my pencil.
Question Sentence
An asking sentence is a sentence that asks a question. Every asking sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a question mark.
Example: What time do we go to lunch?
Exclamatory Sentence
An exclamatory sentence is a sentence that shows a strong feeling. Every exclamatory sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with an exclamation point.
Example: I passed the math test!
Sound
Hearing Sounds - What kinds of sounds are easy to identify?
During this investigation, students practiced sound discrimination by listening to the sounds of objects when they're dropped on a hard surface (table). We used drop chambers to identify objects by the properties of their sound. Students were excited to play the Drop Challenge game! During this game, one student dropped one object into the drop chamber. Their partner had to listen to the sound. After hearing the sound, their partner drop in an object he/she thought matched the original object. Next the two students lifted up the drop chamber to find out if the objects were the same.
We also explored tuning forks. We learned that a tuning fork makes sound when it's hit against a wood block, but it's difficult to observe the vibrations. To confirm that the tuning fork vibrates, we tested it in a variety of ways. After hitting it on a wooden block, we touched it to a card, a plastic cup, a hanging table-tennis ball, and put it in a cup of water. Our conclusion was that the motion of the vibrating tines caused the table-tennis ball to bounce away and the water droplets to fly out of the cup.
Indoor and Outdoor Sounds - What information can sound give us?
On Friday our class went to each floor of our school and took a walk outside to listen for different sounds. We asked the question, "What information does sound give us?" Students closed their eyes and used their ears to listen to the sounds around them, then recorded their observations using pictures and words. Students shared their notes and answered these questions: What did you observe with your ears? What did you hear? What is the source of the sound? Was it a loud or soft sound? What was vibrating? What information did you get from the sounds you heard?
This week we had an earthquake drill. During the earthquake drill, an announcement came from the office that an earthquake was occurring and the students practiced sitting quietly under their desks. We put on safety helmets and waited for instructions.
Have a wonderful weekend!
- Ms. Allison